General Assembly

52nd General Assembly - 2018

2018 WFPHA General Assembly Main Outcomes

The 2018 General Assembly (GA) took place in Geneva, Switzerland on May 20th

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

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The WFPHA welcomed its new President Prof. Laetitia Rispel, who will be serving from 2018 to 2020. She is the first African woman to serve as the President in the history of the WFPHA. Prof. Rispel is also the recipient of many prestigious national and international awards. Dr. Rispel was also recently appointed as one of the commissioners of the South African Lancet Commission, established as part of the Lancet Global Health Commission on High-Quality Health Systems in the Sustainable Development Goals era. The WFPHA looks forward to working under her leadership for the upcoming two years. Congratulations!

The WFPHA also extended its congratulations to prof. Walter Ricciardi (Italy), who will serve as the next President Elect. Professor of Hygiene and Public Health at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, in August 2015 Walter Ricciardi was appointed President of the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità) where he was Commissioner from July 2014 to July 2015. In 2003 he was appointed President of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA). Since 2014 he is Past President of EUPHA. “Please assure [Walter Ricciardi] that the WHO is ready to strengthen its partnership with WFPHA," congratulated WHO's Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The WFPHA looks forward to continue fostering its growing relationship with the WHO.

NEW GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBERS

Several Governing Council (GC) positions were elected:I. Nicoulet (France) and G. Sverre Braut (Norway), will fill the GC positions for the European Region; G. Amofah (Ghana), will fill the GC position for the African Region; H. Nieto (Colombia), who fill the GC position for the American Region; and S. Ghosh (India), who will fill the GC position for the Southeast Region. The WFPHA graciously welcomes the new GC members, and looks forward to working with them.

STRATEGIC PLAN

The strategic plan has set specific goals to be achieved in the coming 5 years is in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Charter for the Public’s Health (the Charter). In order to democratize the process of the development of the strategic plan, all members and working groups were called upon to contribute and more than 50 answered with their feedback and ideas. WFPHA’s incoming President Laetitia Rispel stated: “The underlying vision is to work towards leading the quest for health equity and healthy lives for all as an organization. Collective and interdependent action is needed to achieve measurable results for the communities.” Monitoring of the WFPHA’s achievements shall be implemented through an annual program consisting of specific activities that can be reported on leading to accountability.

A GLOBAL CHARTER FOR THE PUBLIC'S HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION

The Charter has been adopted as one of the fundamental framework to develop new Essential Public Health Functions (EPHF) by WHO. The EPHF are based on a systematic review of all peer-reviewed and grey literature describing EPHF frameworks as well as the world’s public health experience and wisdom that we have accrued over the past 25 years. The content of the various EPHF frameworks was analyzed to identify themes that were common or unique across many different regions and countries.To have the Global Charter for the Public’s Health be part of this report is a major milestone for the WFPHA, as it represents a significant step forward in the organization’s quest of making a difference in the state of public health at the global level. Read the full report here.Additionally, the article "Update on the Global Charter for the Public’s Health" by B. Borisch, M. Lomazzi, M. Moore and R. Krech has been published in the WHO bulletin. This publication will be a key tool for increasing awareness of both the Global Charter and the Federation on the international stage. The article is available here.We are proud of our achievements. The “Global Charter for the Public’s Health” is now internationally referenced. We humbly attribute much of our progress to the excellent links that we have continued to maintain with the WHO.

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After the GA, a Reception dedicated especially to all Diplomats of the Global Charter was organiezd at the Graduate Institute of Geneva, 5 new Diplomats were awarded during this Reception and in the following daysRaman Bedi, Georges Benjamin, Walter Ricciardi, Kwaku Agymang-Manu and Shih-Chung Chen

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THE 2020 WORLD CONGRESS ON PUBLIC HEALTH IN ROME

2020

C. Signorelli gave an overview over the organizational structures and the tasks which have already been completed. These include the approval of the logo, approval of a preliminary budget, approval of a MoU, identification of a local PCO (Triumph), who has agreed to carry the full risk clause. Emphasis will be put on encourage participants and organizational staff coming from the global south to make the event as globally representative as possible. The Congress will be held at “La Nuvola” – Rome convention center a well known and architecturally appealing venue. The MoU was formerly signed by C. Signorelli (SITi), D. Zeegers Paget (EUPHA), M. Moore (WFPHA) and N. Azzopardi (EUPHA).

WHO REPORT

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Dr R. Krech, Director, Office of the Assistant Director-General, Health Systems and Innovation at WHO and WFPHA Diplomat of the Global Charter, gave the GA on overview over the internal reformation processes within the WHO. The goal of this reformation is to make the WHO a modern organization that works seamlessly towards measurable differences in people’s health. The Charter is a great starting point for achieving this goal. In a previous meeting with Director General Dr. Tedros it became clear that the Charter very much reflects his ideas. Dr. R. Krech thus sees the working structure of the WHO to be in line with WFPHA’s missions and strategies (Universal Health Coverage, Emergency action, Promoting healthier populations). In order to advance these missions collaboration is essential; Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for example is a feasible goal which can be achieved with political will, by bringing together political players and health professionals.The WHO’s strategic tools include: policy dialogue, strategic support, technical assistance and service delivery. These are to be adapted according to the individual country’s need. Within this strategy, the Charter is essential as a normative guidance in order to align different organizations. The WHO sees a need for a culture change. Dr. R. Krech states that conceptual alignment is of utmost importance and achieving a unification of language is key in order to harmonize messages on a national, international and regional level. This will help all parties to become stronger through unifying our voices.

POLICY & ADVOCACY: STATEMENTS & RESOLUTIONS

The WFPHA General Assembly approved the following statements and resolutions:

INTEGRATING ORAL HEALTH INTO PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS USING THE FRAMEWORK OF THE GLOBAL CHARTER FOR THE PUBLIC’S HEALTHOral diseases are a neglected epidemic. Although most oral diseases are preventable and have common risk factors with other non-communicable diseases, integration of oral health into public health systems continues to be limited. The Global Charter for the Public’s Health, jointly developed by the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), is a framework that aims to streamline the functions and services of public health. This policy statement describes how oral health can be integrated into public health systems using the components of the Global Charter for the Public’s Health framework. Additionally, it serves as an international call to action for all public health professionals in all countries of the world to advocate for the full integration of oral health into public health systems.Full resolution available here.

A RENEWED CALL FOR GLOBAL ACTION TO BAN ASBESTOSAsbestos refers to a group of naturally occurring minerals with fibrous structures commonly used in construction work and other industries. In 1972, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that lung cancer and mesotheliomas were induced in laboratory animals when asbestos was injected or inhaled. Fifteen years later, the same group classified asbestos into IARC Group 1, designating asbestos as being carcinogenic to humans. Recent estimates suggest that asbestos-related diseases account for 41,000 lung cancer deaths, 43,000- 59,000 cases of mesothelioma, and 7,000-24,000 cases of asbestosis each year. These numbers are expected to rise in the coming years, given the latency period between exposure and symptoms. The resolution, approved in May 2018 by the WFPHA General Assembly, represents a renewed call for global action to ban asbestos in order to limit further exposure and consequent morbidities and deaths. Full resolution available here.

CONDEMNING ATTACKS BY ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES PERSONNEL ON HEALTH CARE WORKERS AND PALESTINIANSThe WFPHA commends the Public Health Association of Israel and—more generally—the public health community, human rights NGOs and civic societies for providing emergency and medical assistance to people in need, regardless of their nationality, and for their ongoing efforts to ensure that the human rights of all people are protected. The WFPHA’s statement on these attacks also calls upon the WHO to increase its assistance to multilateral agencies and non-state organizations that provide health services to Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. The WFPHA calls upon the United Nations: to ensure the continued protection of the human rights of all people; to encourage the relevant stakeholders to return to the negotiating table; and to increase its efforts to bring a just resolution to the Middle East conflicts so that we can protect the vulnerable people living in desperate conditions of war-torn Gaza. Full statement available here.

THE WFPHA @ WHA

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The WFPHA read a statement about Digital Technologies in Public Health at the 71st World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization.

NEW WFPHA MEMBERS

This year WFPHA has worked especially with four international groups, who have become members in the form of a mutual partnership:

51st General Assembly - 2017

2017 WFPHA General Assembly Main Outcomes

The 2017 General Assembly of the WFPHA took place in Melbourne, Australia, during the 15th World Congress on Public Health (15WCPH).

A GLOBAL CHARTER FOR THE PUBLIC'S HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION The “A Global Charter for the Public’s Health” (GCPH) is the main output of WFPHA collaboration plan with the World Health Organization (WHO) to adapt today’s public health to its global context in the light of and in conjunction with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The implementation phase had started in 2016 with the Commonwealth Implementation Tool for the "Global Charter for the Public's Health" and a survey that has been sent to all PHAs and IANPHI members. During the General Assembly 2017 many successful stories have been presented to show how the Charter can be applied locally and globally to reshape PHA strategic plans and as a tool for advocacy. Public health association of Australia (PHAA) has already re-shaped its strategic plan around the Charter, Norwegian public health association has promoted the Charter during the pre-electoral process and with the new political leaders of the country; Panama public health society has launched an initiative “Generation Healthy Panama 2030”, in line with WFPHA’s Charter for the Public’s Health, AASPA’s Declaration of Panama, and the SDGs to promote and systematically measure universal access to a set of specific social determinants of health throughout the life cycle, ABRASCO has sent to the government a position statement on the decision to cut health funding on the basis of the Charter, Taiwan public health association has translated the document into Chinese and that has started a big diffusion in the country.

WHO REPORTDr R. Krech, Director, Office of the Assistant Director-General, Health Systems and Innovation at WHO and WFPHA Diplomat of the Global Charter, has underlined the importance of the Charter in the Global arena and of the fruitful collaboration between WFPHA and WHO in his intervention. The Charter has been developed in collaboration with the WHO with many discussions and has been taken very seriously by all PHA’s and the WFPHA. The Charter is a living document that can be used to reconfigure what public health is all about in different regions, particularly after crises e.g. Ebola. Consultations with health systems and innovation colleagues have occurred, and a resolution in public health was resealed during the last World Health Assembly with additional comments to be made in the coming World Health Assembly. The Charter is tied up with national institutions and we want to see how this relates to the global initiative. Adaptations in different regions to the Charter have and will occur. Institutions will undergo reform and can use the Charter for essential public health functions as a practical application. The process needs to continue so that we can argue and advocate for public health by bringing together the different national public health associations and institutes and use the same document to structure public health.

R. Krech, L. Rispel and T. Bishaw at 15th World Congress on Public Health

THE DIPLOMAT OF THE GLOBAL CHARTERDuring the General Assembly WFPHA has officially launched the Diplomat of the Global Charter, a title to be awarded to public health professional engaged in improving global health and willing to sustain the Global Charter for the Public’s Health's revolution within his/her working and living context. During the Assembly the following stakeholders have been awarded with the Diplomat of Global Charter: •Rüdiger Krech (Director, Office of the Assistant Director-General, Health Systems and Innovation of WHO). •Michael and Helen Moore (WFPHA president and CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia). •Bettina Borisch (WFPHA Executive director and professor of Global Health at the University of Geneva).

STATEMENT & RESOLUTIONS The general assembly has approved the following resolutions:

Two main events took place during the congress. These included a meeting to discuss the student and young professional section of WFPHA, and a World Leadership Dialogue on the Future of Young Professionals and Public Health (featuring Stefan Buttigieg, Manasi Parikh and Thomas Piggott). Livestreaming of these events is available, watch it!

REGIONAL FEDERATIONS Regional federations had very successful meetings during the congress. Regional federation reports are available in the 2016 WFPHA Annual Report (page 23).

During the General Assembly a working group on Indigenous health, chaired by Adrian Te Patu, and a working group on Student and Young professionals, chaired by Thomas Piggott, have been created.

Indigenous WG

1st Indigenous Working Group under the WFPHA was formed in the yarning circle

PROJECTSSeveral projects aiming at implementing the Global Charter for the Public's Health are on-going, focusing on strengthening advocacy, governance, providing reliable information etc. as reported in the Charter.

NEW WFPHA MEMBERS •Ghana Public Health Association upgraded to Full Membership •Health Care Without Harm approved as PARTNER •European Forum for Primary Care approved as PARTNER The WFPHA extend a warm welcome to its new Members!

Awards

Hugh R. Leavell Award is Given to Professor Mike Duabe at 15th World Congress on Public HealthThe Hugh R. Leavell Award was given to Professor Mike Daube at the World Congress on Public Health. This honor is discerned upon an individual who has, in the WFPHA’s opinion, demonstrated exceptional contribution to improve population health globally or within a specific geographic region. The WFPHA established this award in 1979 as a memorial to one of its founding members: Dr. Hugh Rodman Leavell (1902-1976). This individual was deeply involved in international health activities through his teaching relationships with the Harvard University School of Public Health, his assignments as consultant with the Ford Foundation in India and as Director of a joint APHA-WFPHA international study of voluntary health organizations. Like Dr. Leavell, Professor Mike Duabe has been a public health advocate on the front against tobacco since 1973 in more than 30 countries. He has chaired the committee of experts that first recommended the Australian Government to introduce plain packaging. Beside this, Professor Daube is active in a large amount of public health issues as he serves as director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute and the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth. With a wide array of publishings on various public health topics, Professor Daube regularly speaks at many international health conferences around the world on a plethora of topics. As a professional, professor Daube has reached his colleagues, students and the public through his dedication to the field of public health and his advocacy and action toward the improvement of global standards of health.

Dr. Peter Orris was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the WFPHA to honor his merit in favor of the WFPHA and broader global public health. He graduated Harvard College in 1967, Yale School of Public Health in 1970, and the Chicago Medical School of the Rosalind Franklin University in 1975. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two children. Dr. Orris serves as Professor and Associate Director of the Great Lakes Center for Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health of the University of Illinois School of Public Health and is the Director of its Occupational Health Service Institute and Global Toxics Policy Program. He has worked at the Stronger Hospital of Cook County in the in the Division of Occupational Medicine for 35 years and is now a Senior Attending physician. On a global level, Dr. Orris served as an advisor to the World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, and Health Care Without Harm. Dr. Orris dedicated his career to eliminate profits and racism in health care and has made quite a lasting impact on the field of global public health.

The Organizational Excellence Award was prestigiously presented to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) at the World Congress on Public Health. The dedication to global public health of MSF is unmatchable and outstanding. Medical doctors, nurses, epidemiologists and other health professionals have been known to sacrifice their lives traveling into war-torn areas to provide quality healthcare in neglected populations of victims and refugees during times of need. While there is an extremely devastating lack of health care in Syria due to the ongoing Civil War, MSF continues to be the leader in filling this gap. MSF provides vaccines to children that would go otherwise unvaccinated and protects them from the emerging diseases attributable to the repressed conditions of the physical and infrastructural environments there. With damage to the medical facilities in Syria and the obvious risk of terrorism that deters patients in need from going to hospitals, MSF works innovatively to provide high quality medicine with limited resources and to meet patients where they are. The staff at WFPHA and the members from health associations all around the world admire this organization and are honored to present this award.

50th General Assembly - 2016

2016 WFPHA General Assembly outcomes

A Global Charter for the public's health

The A Global Charter for the Public’s Health (GCPH) is the main output of WFPHA collaboration plan with the World Health Organization (WHO) to adapt today’s public health to its global context in the light of and in conjunction with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Charter aims to bring together the best of all the existing models and provide a comprehensive, clear and flexible framework that can be applied globally and within individual countries, whether low, middle or high-income. The A Global Charter for the Public's Health provides new insights into the direction of public health and provides guidance for both ‘services’ and ‘functions’. As such, when read in conjunction with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Charter has the potential to be a major influence globally. It is a document that ought to be taught in public health faculties and used to develop strategic approaches by public health associations around the world. The Charter has been published at the European Journal of Public Health. It has been officially presented at the Commonwealth meeting (May 22nd 2016), at the side event “Global and local: Public Health and Primary Care in action!” during the 69World Health Assembly and subsequently to the general public at the University of Geneva in June 2016. The implementation phase has started with the Commonwealth Implementation Tool for the "Global Charter for the Public's Health" and a survey that has been sent to all PHAs and IANPHI members as well as main international health related organization to see if and how the Charter can be applied locally and globally to reshape PHA strategic plan and as a tool for advocacy. Public health association of Australia (PHAA) has already re-shaped its strategic plan around the Charter.

New Governing Council Members

three outstanding candidates for the VP-president elect position: L. Rispel, L. De Souza and J. Griemland. The GA has elected L. Rispel (South Africa) as new VP/president elect.

two outstanding candidates for the Asia Pacific seat on the GC: A. Bachtiar and A. Te Patu. The GA has elected A. Te Patu (New Zealand) to seat on the GC for the Asia pacific region. CPMA leaves its seat as Asia-pacific representative but will remain on the GC as regional office (ex officio).

five outstanding candidates for the young professional seat on the GC: Mustakim, N. Folmann Hempler, T. Tillmann, T. Pigott and S. Buttigieg. The GA has elected T. Pigott (Canada) as young professional on the GC.

MoU with African Federation of public health associations has been approved:14 new PHAs will be added to the current PHAs already members from the region. National PHAs from AFPHA to be accepted as Full or Associate Members upon MC decision. Membership fees collection will remain independent.

Statement & Resolutions

Statement by the WFPHA on Electronic Cigarettes

Support for WHO evidence-based publication on electronic cigarettes

The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) strongly supports the evidence-based position taken by the World Health Organization (WHO) following publication of its report on the issue of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), more commonly known as electronic cigarettes – or e-cigarettes.

New Working Group

48th General Assembly - 2014

Reflections & Reports from the 48th WFPHA General Assembly:

On Sunday, May 18, during the WFPHA’s Annual General Assembly, my two-year term as WFPHA President came to an end. As I handed over the Presidency to Dr. Mengistu Asnake of Ethiopia, I reflected with satisfaction on what we have achieved over the past few years.

We improved the Federation’s organizational and policy influence capacity by expending our membership and concluded an innovative memorandum of understanding with the European Public Health Association which will serve as a model for similar agreements with other regional networks of public health associations; by developing and implementing the 2013-2017 Strategic Plan; by making our governance process more efficient and responsive; and by exploring new partnerships with potential partners and funders.

WFPHA Presidents

We strengthened the global public health community through launching the pilot Job Share initiative (henceforth to be known as the WFPHA Fellowship Program) and holding a pilot skills-building workshop for public health associations in Africa on policy development and advocacy. The WFPHA was present at several public health association conferences, played a leadership role at the 1st Arab World Public Health Conference, and participated in global health conferences in Canada, Taiwan and Qatar. The Federation began exploring new partnerships with other professional organizations, such as the International Epidemiology Association.

We also took action on several priority public health issues. We approved new position statements on oral health, environmental health and international trade and public health; we galvanized attention on the issue of falsified/falsely-labelled medicines; and we embarked on a collaborative initiative with the WHO to define public health in today’s global setting. The Federation is also developing a statement to advocate for public health within the post-2015 human development agenda. We are also moving forward on advocacy and action on the issues of tobacco control and skills and competencies within public health education and training.

The planning for the 14th World Congress on Public Health, which takes place 11-15 February 2015 in Kolkata (India) is progressing well. During the face-to-face meeting of the International Congress Organizing Committee and the Congress Scientific Committee on May 16, the list of keynote speakers and the structure of the Congress’ program were finalized. Our colleagues at the Indian Public Health Association are putting into place the logistical arrangements in association with KW Conferences. We anticipate 2700 delegates from over 100 countries.

The General Assembly also saw the ratification of the recommendation made by the World Congress Bid Selection Committee to accept the bid by the Public Health Association of Australia to host the 15th World Congress in April 2017 in Melbourne (Australia). This will be a particularly important event, as it will coincide with the WFPHA’s 50th anniversary. The GA also confirmed Michael Moore, CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, as the Federation’s new Vice President/President-Elect.

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It has been an honour and a privilege serving the Federation. I am proud of what we have accomplished and put into place. I thank the members of the WFPHA Governing Council, the Advisory Board, the Federation’s various committees and working groups, our Geneva Headquarters staff and the many women and men from around the globe who have volunteered their time and provided invaluable input to help us create a vibrant and influential voice for global public health. I wish Mengistu and Michael all the best as they move the Federation to a new level.